All Through The Night
by Save Fearow
Summary: It's always fun and games until someone gets hurt. A sleep-over could be the perfect opportunity for Smeldra to impress Horrifica and the popular monsters, so long as Oblina doesn't get in the way. (By request)


All Through The Night

An Aaaah! Real Monsters Fanfic

by Save Fearow

Author's Note: Unfortunately I haven't been able to write as often as I'd like to lately, since we've had to replace a few computer parts but I'm happy to fulfill a request for a monster sleep-over. Smeldra was introduced as the new girl in "The Rival" and while she sparks Oblina's competitive streak, they eventually became friends. Not only do both aspects of that friendship come into play here, but several of the other girls get to share in some of their adventures.

Smeldra could hardly believe her luck. She'd been invited to a slumber party in Horrifica's dorm! It was no secret that Horrifica was THE most popular girl in the Academy, and anybody who was anybody hung out with her. Well, Oblina didn't always follow Horrifica's clique, but Smeldra didn't feel she'd been here long enough to treat them with such cultivated nonchalance. It would probly be better than the usual company she kept anyway. Smeldra's roommate was Twurvi, a two-faced monster girl whose moods were inscrutable. Smeldra had heard great stories about the Academy from her mother, who had been an alumni. (Pheldra had moved away after graduating, believing that there were greater scaring oppurtunities out west. She'd done well, married into money, but after Granny Neldra had fallen and broken her hip, Pheldra had decided it was time to return to New York, and Smeldra and her father Runkor had been happy to oblige, even if it meant transferring to a new school and associating with new monsters.) Smeldra grabbed her pillow and a jar of grubbied eels to share with the girls before heading to Horrifica's dorm. Along the way she spotted Oblina struggling to carry both her Monster Manual and the stocking she liked to sleep in. Smeldra rushed over to lend a paw.

"Let me help you, Oblina!" Smeldra offered.

"No thank you. I'm fine." Oblina prided herself on being self-reliant.

Smeldra sighed. She liked talking to Oblina, but sometimes that girl was sooo stubborn! "Alright." Smeldra relented. "But if you change your mind, let me know."

"I won't." Oblina maintained.

Smeldra fell into step alongside her. "I didn't think you would come, slumber parties didn't seem like something you'd go to." Smeldra continued.

"Ordinarily I don't, since I usually study a bit before bed. But Dizzle invited me to the sleep-over, and I thought I could use the company tonight." Oblina admitted.

"What about your roommates, Krumm and Ickis? I didn't see them in class today." Smeldra recalled.

"Krumm is helping Horvak on the farm this week. It's almost the end of harvest season, so they're probly working -this- time. Horvak sometimes invites his son over just so they can hang out at the cockroach races or go mud-wrestling, and they use farming as an excuse." Oblina revealed.

Smeldra giggled. "Does the Gromble know?" she wondered.

"He'd be a fool not to! I think he overlooks it because Krummy is not always the most productive student in class, and the Gromble does recognize the importance of family obligations." Oblina replied.

"He's a good Headmaster, tough but fair." Smeldra opined.

Oblina smiled. "I'm glad SOMEONE else realizes the tremendous effort the Gromble puts into teaching this Academy. You'd be hard pressed to get Icky to agree, of course. He's always whining about how unfair everything is." Oblina remarked.

"Where is Ickis? Did he go somewhere with his Dad? The Gromble always talks about how -impressive- the Great Slickis is." Smeldra chattered as they neared the dorm.

"Slickis is in Aspen this week competing in their Sewer Slaloms. He sent a postcard which cheered Ickis up somewhat." Oblina mentioned. "Ickis has a cold. He -should- be staying in bed so he'll recover faster. Icky always claims that he feels fine even when it's -obvious- he's not. I told Ickis that the Gromble would take one look at him and insist that he go back to the dorm, but it didn't seem like it was enough of a deterrent, so I reminded him of how behind he was in his reading, that he still owed the Gromble a scare from last week, and that Zimbo was sure to tease him if he attended class which finally got Ickis to behave sensibly. He can be such a bonsty, you know."

"Boys can be awfully immature. Not like us." Smeldra professed.

"Absolutely!" Oblina concurred. They turned the corner only to have Dizzle, Hairyette, and Horrifica all run up to greet them... by throwing pillows in their faces.

"Slumber party, YAY!" the girls shrieked with delight.

"Tonight is going to be so hebopply!" Dizzle declared once the girls were all settled into the dorm.

"That's what you say every night." Hairyette pointed out.

"Then it'll be super hebopply! Just like Super Monster!" Dizzle squealed.

"Who -was- that masked monster? I haven't seen him in ages, but he was so talented." Oblina remembered fondly.

"Maybe he turned pro already. For a boy, he was quite the scaring expert." Hairyette theorized.

"Too bad the Academy boys aren't like that." Horrifica conceded.

"Maybe they will grow into it?" Smeldra suggested.

"Some would have to grow ALOT more than others." Horrifica insinuated.

"What if they grew sideways like the Gromble? He gets fatter every year!" Hairyette joked. Even Oblina couldn't help snickering at that one.

"He's trying to lose weight." Oblina felt she ought to at least make a token effort at defending their teacher.

"How could the Gromble lose something he -always- carries with him?" Dizzle quipped. She and Hairyette guffawed.

"I don't know, I guess he's always in the thick of it!" added Smeldra.

Horrifica giggled. "Good one, Smeldra." she praised.

"Thanks." Smeldra replied. "Want a grubbied eel? I brought lots."

Horrifica chopped the snack in half. "I can't eat a whole one, I don't want to risk becoming pudgy." Horrifica maintained.

"Don't worry, that's what we do our rhythmic scaring routines for." Dizzle asserted. "My mom says they're good exercise."

"I do yowlga poses 3 times a week. It helps keeps one limber." Oblina claimed.

"Ooh, sounds smenky. I've been practicing kung fear kicks ever since I was a bonsty." boasted Smeldra.

"I've done alot of things since bonstyhood, too!" Oblina insisted.

"Like nagging?" Hairyette teased playfully.

Oblina scowled. "No, I was around more DIGNIFIED monsters then. I've played scuffleboard with Mumsy's guests at all our mansion parties." Oblina bragged.

"Are you better at that, than you are at playing the anthraxichord? Ickis told me you were AWFUL." Dizzle revealed.

"I wouldn't believe everything Ickis says." Oblina grumbled.

"He is a little liar." Horrifica judged.

Oblina bit her lip. "That's a bit harsh." she decided.

"Tough toenails. That's what my father always says whenever the truth hurts." Hairyette stated resolutely.

"I wish I had more toenails. I spent mine on a bottle of stink fume, but I'm saving it for Valentine's Day." Dizzle commented.

"Who's gonna be your squishy Valentine?" Smeldra wondered.

"Frunk, no Boral, no Urbab, no Frunk! It's hard to decide." Dizzle hesitated to make a commitment. "A big scary monster, at any rate." she predicted.

"That leaves Ickis out of it." Horrifica sneered.

"Ickis is ALWAYS out of it. He's bonkers." Hairyette commented.

"I heard a rumor that he thought a Cuddles the bear movie was real." Smeldra recalled some of the earlier gossip.

"That was Zimbo pulling a nasty prank on him." Oblina explained.

"I thought it was funny." Horrifica declared.

"You would not say that if it had happened to you." Oblina retorted.

Horrifica shrugged. "Whatever. Ickis is so far beneath me, he might as well be living at the center of the earth." Horrifica claimed.

"Ickis couldn't live there very long. He'd melt." Smeldra pointed out.

"No one would mourn him if he did." Horrifica pronounced. Oblina opened her mouth to argue, but Horrifica continued unabashed. "Snorbly -little- boys are the epitome of loserdom. I can't imagine ANYONE could even begin to care what befalls them." she added.

Oblina looked uncomfortable. "Maybe if-" began Oblina.

"Maybe if he got a make-over, Ickis wouldn't be so bad. If he was taller, and broad-chested, and won ribbons, and plaques, and trophys then he'd be squishable." Dizzle detailed.

"You just described his father." Oblina observed.

Dizzle sighed happily. "Slickis even makes big ears look smenky! The notches convey a sense of toughness and rugged masculinity." Dizzle gushed.

"Slickis is OLD, like my parents' age. Blugh." Hairyette gagged.

"He's mature." Dizzle insisted.

"Then he wouldn't encourage such an inappropriate squish." Oblina countered.

"I think all the best romances start out as unrequited love." Dizzle pouted.

"I hope not! I've been given dead fish from Krumm, Pugh, Leaky, and the Snorch this semester!" Horrifica groaned.

"My heart bleeds for you." Oblina muttered.

"It must be because I'm sooo hideous." Horrifica announced. "Look, Mom sent me glittery claw polish, it sparkles like my scales!"

"Ooh, that's such a revolting shade! Can I try some?" Smeldra asked.

"Sure. Mom always sends more if I run out. The modeling agency gives her bunches." Horrifica allowed.

Hairyette frowned. "I chipped a claw today. I don't know if I can wear it." Hairyette confessed.

"Just leave that one blank. I'll do the same, then we'll be claw sisters!" offered Dizzle.

"May I paint mine that way too? I always wanted a sister!" Oblina admitted.

"Sure. I bet you get really sick of rooming with those boys." Hairyette replied.

"Ickis is the one who's sick." Smeldra stated as she applied the claw polish.

"Really? I bet he's snoring then. No wonder you wanted to get away, Oblina." Horrifica joked.

"He's not THAT bad." Oblina protested.

"I think Ickis sounds like a beaver sharpening his teeth with a chainsaw." Horrifica expressed.

"No, no. It's more like a buffalo learning to yodel." Dizzle professed.

"You're both wrong. It's a donkey with its tail caught in an electric razor." Hairyette.

"I heard him last month! He passed out in the hallway after finally scrubbing off the graffiti that insulted the Gromble, and I think Ickis sounded like a chimpanzee signaling an alien ship." Smeldra insisted. Hairyette, Dizzle, and Horrifica all roared with laughter.

"Knock it off. We shouldn't make fun of Ickis any more tonight." Oblina hissed.

"Okay, but we're not gonna make fun of him any less." replied Horrifica.

"You know what else is fun? Playing Truth or Dare!" Dizzle suggested.

"That is a good idea! Oblina, you start." Hairyette decided.

"Truth." Oblina chose quickly.

"What does Ickis' snoring sound like? Tell me truthfully." Hairyette quizzed.

Oblina sighed. "Ickis sounds like a duck swallowing a bicycle horn when he snores." answered Oblina. That comparison earned the biggest chuckle of the evening so far.

Although she didn't like being forced to answer such a pointed question, Oblina found herself being drawn into the spirit of the game nonetheless. "I've got one for Horrifica. Truth or dare!" Oblina announced.

"Dare." Horrifica declared with a flounce of her tendrils.

"I dare you to offer the Gromble some of your claw polish." Oblina determined. The other girls gasped, impressed by the inventiveness of the challenge.

"Fine. But if I'm going down to the Gromble's office, then ALL of you had better come with me. I'm not getting sent to the Snorch alone!" Horrifica retorted as she sauntered down the hall.

"Maybe the Snorch will give you another dead fish." Dizzle jeered as the girls tromped after Horrifica.

"I'm surprised you haven't sent Slickis a bouquet." Horrifica countered.

"His birthday's not till May! It would ruin the surprise to send it early." Dizzle pointed out.

"Wow. There are so many things wrong with that plan, I don't even know where to begin disparaging it." Oblina conceded.

"Happy birthday, Mis-ter Champ-i-on." Dizzle hummed.

"You're doing it too fast, it sounds rushed." Smeldra critiqued.

"That's part of the problem." Oblina replied.

"Hey, we don't want to get caught roaming the halls, so button it!" Hairyette hissed.

"Oh yesss. Please DO tell me more on why I should 'button it'." remarked the Gromble as he sneaked up from behind them.

Horrifica spun around to face him. "Your Grombleness, sir. It's a small matter, really." Horrifica insisted.

"Leaving the dorm after lights out is -never- a small matter." the Gromble snarled. "That's why the punishment is never small, EITHER."

"But sir! We just wanted to give you some claw polish. It's Grotesquely Green." Horrifica offered.

"Really? That -would- compliment my skin tone." the Gromble mused.

"Like a froggy ferny cabbage, it's unnaturally green." declared Smeldra.

"There's just one problem... I wear GLOVES!" the Gromble snapped.

"You wear them all the time? Doesn't that make you some kind of germ-phobe?" Hairyette questioned.

The Gromble blushed slightly. "I prefer to think of it as constant vigilance." he maintained. "It's not like I'm wrong, I've -seen- how often Master Ickis wipes his nose on his claws, that is SO unrefined."

"Have you tried offering him a tissue?" Oblina suggested.

"Dear Oblina, that would require touching him." the Gromble claimed. "Now get back to bed, all of you before you're Snorched!"

"Yes sir. Right away sir!" the girls chorused.

The Gromble frowned as he watched them go. "I wonder if that claw polish comes in a Repulsive Red?" he contemplated.

"It was worth getting scolded, just to see the Gromble's face!" Horrifica chortled upon their return.

"My heart was pounding with fright anyway! I don't think I want to do a dare." Dizzle decided.

"Pick truth then, I've got a great one for you." Horrifica professed.

"Okay, truth!" Dizzle obliged.

"How many times have you lied to your parents this year?" Horrifica questioned.

Dizzle gulped. "Both of them at once, or do you count lies to Mom and Dad individually?" she asked.

"All the lies total." Horrifica clarified.

"4 times. I told Mom I needed toenails for a school project, but I bought stink fume instead. And I told Daddy his stamp collection was hebopply even though it's NOT. I told them both that I didn't know what grade I got when we were quizzed on the Elements Of Fear, but I knew it was a 75% And just last week Mom asked me if I had time to help her sweep dirt onto her office floor, but I said I had to go scaring even though I'd already completed the assignment. I just didn't want to do a chore for her that one time." Dizzle admitted.

Horrifica yawned. "Is that all? Those are -such- minor fibs." Horrifica commented.

"I still feel bad about lying, though. Mom and Dad are very nice, and they trust me." Dizzle proclaimed.

"I'm sure they understand." Smeldra professed.

"I hope so." murmured Dizzle.

"If they don't, it's their problem." Hairyette asserted. "You're a good daughter, believe me."

Dizzle smiled. "Thanks, Hairyette. Do you want a turn now?" Dizzle asked.

"Sure. I pick truth." Hairyette declared.

"Tell me -truly- which boy you're squishing on!" Dizzle called out.

Hairyette gasped. "No way, I don't want to!" argued Hairyette.

"You promised, it's the rules!" Dizzle countered.

Hairyette gulped. "I like Kriggle." she whispered softly.

Smeldra's face fell. "But I think Kriggle's hideous and I was hoping that we would get together!" Smeldra revealed.

Hairyette sighed. "You'd probly have a better chance at him than I would. Kriggle likes brainy girls, and I'm no bookworm." admitted Hairyette.

"Oh, but we're still young. There are plenty of boys out there, not everyone stays with their first boyfriend from school. My mom was a student at the Academy, and she didn't end up in love with the monster she went to the Homecoming Dance with. They both got married to someone else, and are happier for it." Smeldra tried to sound encouraging.

"It doesn't really bother me." Hairyette bluffed. "But I don't feel like playing another round. Someone else can give the next challenge."

"I'm up for a dare, if anyone's got one." Smeldra offered.

"Finally! A girl with guts!" Horrifica declared.

Smeldra beamed. "I'll do whatever you request, just name it!" vowed Smeldra.

Horrifica grinned wickedly. "I have the -perfect- dare in mind. Krumm accidentally told me ALL about Ickis' stupid bonsty toy. It's this sponge he keeps in the dorm. Go take it and throw it in one of the sewer pipes, maybe it'll float to the landfill." Horrifica detailed.

Oblina's jaw dropped. "No. Smeldra would NEVER pull off such a stunt!" Oblina determined.

"Why? I'm not scared, Oblina. I can handle it." Smeldra professed.

"Exactly. It's only a dare, same as the one -you- gave me!" Horrifica insisted.

"Yeah, it's only a dare. No big." echoed Hairyette.

"That was different! Nobody was harmed by that!" Oblina argued.

"Maybe she should've picked truth." Dizzle interjected.

"Don't worry about it! The Gromble won't spot me, after the warning he gave us, he's SURE we'll stay in the dorm and probly won't even be keeping look-out anymore. This dare will be easy as slime pie!" Smeldra boasted.

"I'm not worried about whether the Gromble sees you." Oblina proclaimed.

"Great. See ya when I'm done being daring!" Smeldra called out as she took off running.

Smeldra raced down the hallway, with Oblina in dogged pursuit. Neither one cared if the Gromble was still on patrol.

"Leave him alone! Ickis has never done -anything- mean to you!" Oblina hissed.

"Lighten up. It's only a dare, like everyone said." Smeldra retorted. She flipped her hair in a practiced imitation of the way Horrifica made her tendrils flounce.

"It's hurtful. He's not well, he doesn't need to be given grief." Oblina protested.

Smeldra ignored her. Oblina already HAD friends, and her fearsome reputation meant she was respected by the Gromble even! She didn't have anything to prove, the way Smeldra did. She glanced back and saw that Oblina was looping herself into a lariat, but Smeldra was too clever to be ensnared by any old rope trick. As Oblina swung herself towards Smeldra's feet, the shorter monster took a running leap and jumped out of Oblina's reach. Smeldra turned a somersault in mid-air and landed gracefully, not even breaking a sweat. She continued her journey to Oblina's dorm undaunted. Considering the lead she had built up, there was no way that Oblina could stop her.

Smeldra did feel a slight pang of regret for evading Oblina, but it wasn't enough to keep her from opening the door and walking inside. Oblina's dorm had roughly the same dimensions as any other bedroom, and differed only in its decorations. Even at a glance you could tell which monsters normally resided where. To her right was Oblina's section, were the couch was kept in perfect order and the reading lamp placed next to a bookshelf full of great literary works. To her left was Krumm's area. A dog-eared comic book, a half-eaten screwdriver, some torn trading cards, and a farming catalogue where jumbled in a pile near his usual sleeping spot. Ickis, the dorm's lone occupant, was snoring in his bed. Smeldra approached cautiously, stepping around a few discarded tissues and an empty mug of crude oil. Atop the night stand she spotted Ickis' Monster Manual, a pair of glasses, that Colorado postcard from his Dad, and a strange object Smeldra vaguely recognized as a human instrument. (Maybe they called it a harmonica?) Ickis must have carried the sponge into bed with him, she deduced.

Ickis shivered as Smeldra pulled back the blanket, but she kept her nerve. The flop-eared boy had wrapped both paws around the sponge, so removing it -might- prove difficult, but Smeldra felt she was up to the challenge. While she was preparing to grab the bonsty toy and run, Smeldra heard the little monster cry out in his sleep.

"Mommy, don't leave me." Ickis moaned.

Surprised, Smeldra pulled back. "What?" she whispered.

"Stop right there, Smeldra!" Oblina snarled, having caught up to her at last.

Smeldra didn't quite know what to say. All her rationalizations seemed inadequate now. "Oblina, I-" she began.

Ickis sniffled pitifully. "Don't leave, Mom. It'll be dark when you go..." he whimpered and clutched the sponge tighter.

"He, he thinks he's talking to his mother." Smeldra stammered.

"Poor Icky only ever sees her in dreams, she passed away before he even hatched." Oblina murmured sadly.

Smeldra gasped. "I didn't know." she professed.

"Ickis calls that sponge 'Shnookie' because that was Squelia's nickname. Maybe it's a little embarrassing, but he ONLY plays with it when he's scared or upset. Are you -really- going to take that away from him?" Oblina questioned.

Smeldra thought about how awful it would be if Granny or anyone else she loved ever perished and felt ashamed. "No. I can't bring myself to do it." Smeldra realized.

"No one should." Oblina opined. She tiptoed over to Ickis' bed and covered him back up with the blanket. "He needs to stay warm. Ickis has been known to kick off the blanket when he's feverish but it isn't good for him." she stated.

"How is he now?" Smeldra asked.

Oblina placed a paw on Ickis' forehead. "Hmm. A little hotter than usual, so he might be running a temperature. I -know- Icky would rather sleep in the dorm than the infirmary, but if he's still got a fever tomorrow, I'm dragging him down there anyway." Oblina decided. She patted him gently as he snored.

"Should we take him to the doctor now? Ickis looks like he's having trouble breathing, his fur is blue." Smeldra noted.

"Er, that often happens to him." Oblina admitted as she withdrew her paw. "Icky feels self-concious about it so Krumm and I pretend not to notice." she added.

"Oh. That's kind, you must be good friends." Smeldra remarked. Ickis sneezed then and for a moment Smeldra feared that he might wake up, but he continued to doze.

"We should go, Ickis needs to rest." whispered Oblina. Smeldra nodded and the girls slunk out of the room.

They were a bit more guarded on the return trip. Smeldra waited until they were halfway back to Horrifica's dorm before speaking again. "Let the others think I wimped out on the dare. They don't need to know about Ickis." Smeldra asserted.

"They already know -some- things. The Gromble made us all give a presentation on our families, back when we first started our schooling but you weren't there for that." Oblina acknowledged.

"That -must- have been rough." Smeldra commented.

"Rough doesn't even begin to describe it! Zimbo was ESPECIALLY callous to Ickis afterwards, they've never gotten along, but I think Zimbo felt he was an easy target because he was already lonely and depressed. But Icky is stronger than Zimbo thinks, I know he doesn't -look- it, but he's awfully brave when he has to be." Oblina insisted.

"I'm sure you would know." Smeldra remarked. "Monsters often behave differently around their squish."

"Yes." Oblina replied as a force of habit. Once she realized how her response could be interpreted by a newcomer, Oblina back-pedalled immediately. "We're just friends, -nothing- more!" Oblina declared adamantly.

Smeldra smiled. "Of course, Oblina. Whatever you say." she agreed.

"It's true! I've turned Icky down on a regular basis, ask anybody!" Oblina maintained.

"I bet you two WOULD make an -icky- couple." teased Smeldra. She ran back to the party before Oblina could tackle her and force her to retract the statement.

~~~The End.

Author's Note: Methinks the lady doth protest too much. Of course, I'd be careful NOT to tell Oblina that, she has quite the temper. Reviews are encouraged (even if Ickis' flirtations aren't.)


End file.
